Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women


Catherine Thimmesh - 2000
    Their creations are some of the most enduring (the windshield wiper) and best loved (the chocolate chip cookie). What inspired these women, and just how did they turn their ideas into realities?Features women inventors Ruth Wakefield, Mary Anderson, Stephanie Kwolek, Bette Nesmith Graham, Patsy O. Sherman, Ann Moore, Grace Murray Hopper, Margaret E. Knight, Jeanne Lee Crews, and Valerie L. Thomas, as well as young inventors ten-year-old Becky Schroeder and eleven-year-old Alexia Abernathy. Illustrated in vibrant collage by Caldecott Honor artist Melissa Sweet.

A Voyage in the Clouds: The (Mostly) True Story of the First International Flight by Balloon in 1785


Matthew Olshan - 2016
    But no one has flown from one country to another. John Jeffries, an Englishman, and his pilot, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a Frenchman, want to be the first. On January 7, 1785, they set out to cross the English Channel to France in a balloon. All seemed to be going fine, until Jeffries decides the balloon looks too fat and adjusts the air valve—how hard could it be? Too bad he drops the wrench over the side of the aerial car. With no way to adjust the valve, the balloon begins to sink. Jeffries and Blanchard throw as much as they can overboard—until there is nothing left, not even their clothes. Luckily, they come up with a clever (and surprising) solution that saves the day. A VOYAGE IN THE CLOUDS is a journey that will keep kids laughing the whole way.A Margaret Ferguson Book

Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin


Robert Byrd - 2012
    In pictures and text, master artist Robert Byrd documents Franklin's numerous and diverse accomplishments, from framing the Constitution to creating bifocals.

Libba: The Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotten


Laura Veirs - 2018
    Elizabeth Cotten was only a little girl when she picked up a guitar for the first time. It wasn't hers (it was her big brother's), and it wasn't strung right for her (she was left-handed). But she flipped that guitar upside down and backwards and taught herself how to play it anyway. By age eleven, she'd written "Freight Train," one of the most famous folk songs of the twentieth century. And by the end of her life, people everywhere—from the sunny beaches of California to the rolling hills of England—knew her music.

The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World's Coral Reefs: The Story of Ken Nedimyer and the Coral Restoration Foundation


Kate Messner - 2018
    All it takes is one:One coral gamete to start a colonyOne person to make a differenceOne idea to change the worldThe ongoing efforts to save and rebuild the world's coral reefs--with hammer and glue, and grafts of newly grown coral--are the living legacy of Ken Nedimyer.Kate Messner and Matthew Forsythe tell the true story of the coral restoration pioneer in this brilliant tribute to the wonders of nature and the power of human ingenuity.

Shirley Chisholm is a Verb!


Veronica Chambers - 2020
    Now young readers will learn about her early years, her time in Congress, her presidential bid and how her actions left a lasting legacy that continues to inspire, uplift, and instruct.

Nina: A Story of Nina Simone


Traci N. Todd - 2021
    She sang before she talked and learned to play piano at a very young age. With the support of her family and community, she received music lessons that introduced her to classical composers like Bach who remained with her and influenced her music throughout her life. She loved the way his music began softly and then tumbled to thunder, like her mother's preaching, and in much the same way as her career. During her first performances under the name of Nina Simone her voice was rich and sweet but as the Civil Rights Movement gained steam, Nina's voice soon became a thunderous roar as she raised her voice in powerful protest in the fight against racial inequality and discrimination.

Georgia in Hawaii: When Georgia O'Keeffe Painted What She Pleased


Amy Novesky - 2012
    Georgia O’Keeffe was famous for painting exactly what she wanted, whether flowers or skulls. Who would ever dare to tell her what to paint? The Hawaiian Pineapple Company tried. Luckily for them, Georgia fell in love with Hawaii. There she painted the beloved green islands, vibrant flowers, feathered fishhooks, and the blue, blue sea. But did she paint what the pineapple company wanted most of all? Amy Novesky’s lyrical telling of this little-known story and Yuyi Morales’s gorgeous paintings perfectly capture Georgia’s strong artistic spirit. The book includes an author’s note, illustrator’s note, bibliography, map of the islands, and endpapers that identify Georgia’s favorite Hawaiian flowers.

How to Solve a Problem: The Rise (and Falls) of a Rock-Climbing Champion


Ashima Shiraishi - 2020
    There are twists and turns, falls and scrapes, and obstacles that seem insurmountable until you learn to see the possibilities within them. And then there is the moment of triumph, when there's nothing above you but sky and nothing below but a goal achieved.Ashima Shiraishi draws on her experience as a world-class climber in this story that challenges readers to tackle the problems in their own lives and rise to greater heights than they would have ever thought possible.

Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker


Patricia Hruby Powell - 2013
    Louis to the grandest stages in the world. Meticulously researched by both author and artist, Josephine's powerful story of struggle and triumph is an inspiration and a spectacle, just like the legend herself.

Mary Walker Wears the Pants: The True Story of the Doctor, Reformer, and Civil War Hero


Cheryl Harness - 2013
    For her service she became the only woman ever to earn the Medal of Honor. This picture book biography tells the story of a remarkable woman who challenged traditional roles and lived life on her own terms

Her Fearless Run: Kathrine Switzer’s Historic Boston Marathon


Kim Chaffee - 2019
    This narrative biography follows Kathrine from running laps as a girl in her backyard to becoming the first woman to run the Boston Marathon with official race numbers in 1967.

Fancy Party Gowns: The Story of Ann Cole Lowe


Deborah Blumenthal - 2017
    When her mom died, Ann continued sewing dresses. It wasn't easy, especially when she went to design school and had to learn alone, segregated from the rest of the class. But the work she did set her spirit soaring, as evidenced in the clothes she made. Rarely credited, Ann Cole Lowe became "society's best kept secret." This beautiful picture book shines the spotlight on a figure who proved that with hard work and passion, any obstacles can be overcome.

The Pilot and the Little Prince: The Life of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry


Peter Sís - 2014
    Antoine dreamed of flying and grew up to be a pilot—and that was when his adventures began. He found a job delivering mail by plane, which had never been done before. He and his fellow pilots traveled to faraway places and discovered new ways of getting from one place to the next. Antoine flew over mountains and deserts. He battled winds and storms. He tried to break aviation records, and sometimes he even crashed. From his plane, Antoine looked down on the earth and was inspired to write about his life and his pilot-hero friends in memoirs and in fiction. Peter Sís's remarkable biography celebrates the author of The Little Prince, one of the most beloved books in the world. A Frances Foster Book.

Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile


Gloria Houston - 2011
    Dorothy's dearest wish is to be a librarian in a fine brick library just like the one she visited when she was small, but her new home in North Carolina has valleys and streams but no libraries. So Miss Dorothy and her neighbors decide to start a bookmobile. Instead of people coming to a fine brick library, Miss Dorothy can now bring the books to them - at school, on the farm, even once in the middle of a river! Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile is an inspiring story about the love of books, the power of perseverance, and how a librarian can change people's lives.